Wire-crimping apparatus



Nov. 3, 1959 A. L. VAN NEST WIRE-CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1957 Nov. 3, 1959 11.1.9); NEST 2,911,014

WIRE-CRIMPING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 17, 1957 W mw m WM U IV. M L m Am A Y B Nm n) W *7 mm .1 Ur 3 Nov. 3, 1959 A. 1... VAN NEST 2,911,014

WIRE-CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 25 FIG. 3

v INVENTOR.

, A. L. l AN NEST BY Cuc.

AI'TORNEY A. L. VAN NEST WIRE-CRIMPING APPARATUS Nov. 3, 1959 7 Filed May 17, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 6-

INVENTOR. A. L. WIN NEST BY (LC.

ATTORNEY Nov. 3, 1959 A. L. VAN NEST WIRE-CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1957 6 sheets sheet 5 uvmvron A. L. VAN NEST BY (LL.

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 3, 1959 A. L. VAN NEST 2,911,014

, WIRE-CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed lay v1'7, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. IO

. INVENTOR. A. L. VAN NEST a.C.& A.mM/6 Y ATTORNEY United States Patent O 2,911,014 WIRE-CRHVIPING APPARATUS Arden L. Van Nest, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application May 17, 1957, Serial No. 659,861 6 Claims. (Cl. 140-71) assemblies.

One of the final operations performed in the manufacture of terminal block assemblies, is a strapping operation in which a row of terminals are electrically connected together. crimping a tinned copper wire about each of the individual terminals of a row of terminals on the terminal block assembly. In the past, this operation has been performed by using a preformed wire shaped substantially in the form of a sine wave. The wire was positioned upon a row of terminals and was crimped around the terminals by an operator using a pair of pliers and working from one end of the row to the other. It has been found, however, that such a manual operation oftentimes produces a faulty electrical connection and the amount of time consumed by such manual crimping has been very great.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved apparatus for crimping a wire.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for pressing a filament into an open ended rectangular aperture.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus for crimping a wire about a plurality of spaced projecting units such as a row of aligned, parallel prongs.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for strapping together terminals of terminal block assemblies.

With the above and other objects in view, an apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention is designed for crimping a wire about each prong in a row of aligned, parallel prongs. The apparatus includes a frame having a support for the prongs, on which the prongs are mounted so that a plurality of spaced, open-topped apertures are defined having the side edges of adjacent prongs as sides. A plurality of movable," spaced, parallel crimping fingers are provided, each having bifurcations at one end thereof. Means are provided, secured to the frame, for mounting the crimping fingers so that the bifurcated ends thereof are in alignment with the open tops of the apertures and are normally spaced therefrom, and means are provided for positioning a wire acrossthe row of prongs. Further, means are provided for ,moving the crimping fingers so that the bifurcated ends thereof move from their normal positions spaced from the apertures toward the support end into the apertures to press a loop of wire loosely into each aperture. Finally, .means are provided for spreading the furcations of the fingers to crimp the wire against the prongs, and means for moving the various activating means in proper timed relationship to one another.

Preferably, means are provided for controlling the movement of the fingers into the apertures so that the most The common electrical connection is made by from the center and so that each finger is maintained moved until after all of the fingers have been so moved, at which time the furcations are spread to crimp the wire. The fingers may be pivotably mounted on a supporting shaft, with cams being provided for pivoting the bifurcated ends down into the apertures in the prescribed sequence. The bifurcated ends may be spread by cam-operated spreader rods fitting between the furcations, having rectangular cross sections, and rotatable to spread the furcations to crimp the Wire.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of an apparatus forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the same apparatus, with parts thereof broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1, with parts thereof broken away for clarity and showing a portion of the apparatus in one operative position;

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3, showing the portion of the apparatus in another operative position;

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged, fragmentary views of the apparatus taken along line 55 of Fig. 1, with parts taken along line 1111 of Fig. 1, showing a star-Wheel mechanism in an operating position; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a bifurcated finger which forms a portion of the apparatus.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Figs. 9 and 10, a terminal block assembly 11 is depicted,

having a plurality of aligned terminals 1212 extending through a terminal block .13 in which they are secured and which may be composed of cast resin. The terminals 1212 have a plurality of aligned notches 14i4 suitable for receiving a length of tinned copper wire, such as 16, for electrically connecting a row of the terminals 12-12 together.

Referring to Figs. l-8, inclusive, 11 and 12, an apparatus for strapping together the terminals 1212 of the cast resin terminal block assembly 11 is shown mounted upon the top 17 of a bench 18. The apparatus comprises a cam shaft 19 rotatably mounted within supports 2121 which are rigidly mounted upon and extend upwa-rdly from the bench top 17. A shaft 23 is mounted between the supports 2121 and has a plurality of bifurcated fingers 22-22 (one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 12) rotatably mounted upon it and held in spaced relationship along it as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by a plurality of spacers 25-25. An equal plurality of cams 24-'24 are mounted upon the cam shaft 19, are keyed thereto for rotation therewith and are so spaced along the cam shaft 19 that rotation thereof causes pivoting of the fingers 2222 by action of the cams 24-24 ggainzst raised portions 26--26 of the bifurcated fingers A workpiece support 27 is mounted rigidly upon a support bar 28, which is rigidly secured to supports 21-41. The workpiece support 27 has two positionminals 1212 directly below a series of notches 3131 in the bifurcated fingers 2222, as shown in Fig. 3. A guide 33 having two extending projections is mounted upon the workpiece support 27 for aiding in positioning a terminal block assembly prior to the strapping operation.

The raised portions 2626 of the fingers 22-22 are maintained against their respective cams 2424 by a plurality of compression springs 3434 mounted between the fingers 2222 and a spring support 36 rigidly mounted between the supports 21-21. Positioned between each pair of resilient bifurcated portions 37 37 of the fingers 22-22 is one of a plurality of spreader rods 38-38. The spreader rods 3838 are mounted for oscillation within a support member 39 which is rigidly mounted between the support members 2.121. The lower portion 41 of each spreader rod 32% has a thin section so that when the rod 38 is oscillated within the support member 39, the bifurcated portions 37-37 of the fingers 2222 will be spread apart, as shown in Fig. 8.

Each of the spreader rods 3838 is provided with a right angle extension 42 which has a ball portion 43 formed on its extremity. Each of the ball portions 43-43 is received within one or" a number of sockets 4444 formed within a reciprocable bar 46 mounted for reciprocation through the supports 21-21. The right end of the bar 46, as viewed in Fig. 1, extends through the support 21 and has a cam follower 47 mounted upon its extremity. The cam follower 47 is received within the cam track 43 of a cam 49 and will be actuated for one reciprocation of the bar 46 during one complete rotation of the cam 49.

A tube moving mechanism is indicated generally at 51 and comprises supports 5252, only one of which is shown, which support a mounting member 53 having a pneumatic cylinder 54 mounted thereupon by means of supports 55-55. The cylinder 54 has a piston (not shown) mounted therein, which has attached thereto a tube 56 suitable for receiving a length of tinned copper wire 57 in the open right end thereof, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. Air pressure may be admitted to the cylinder 54- so as to drive the tube 56 rightwardly to a position where its right end abuts a wire guide 58 which is attached rigidly to a cutting block 59 attached to the support bar 28. When the tube is in this rightward position it will be positioned below the series of notches 31-31 formed in the tip portions of the fingers 2222 and will be positioned in aligned notches 1414 formed in the terminals. Air pressure may also be admitted to the cylinder 54 so as to retract the tube 56 leftwardly to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

When the tube 56 is abutting the guide 53, the wire 57 may be fed into it by the driving action of a grooved feed wheel 61 mounted on and keyed to shaft 62 and driven by a series of gears 63, 64 and 66 which are mounted on shafts 67, 68 and 62. respectively. The shafts 67, 68 and 62 are mounted rotatably upon a mounting member 69 attached rigidly to one of the supports 2121. A follower wheel 71 keeps the wire within the groove of feed wheel 61 and is spring-pressed against feed wheel 61 by tension spring 72 which tends to pivot a pivotable member 73 upon which the follower wheel 71 is mounted. The pivotable member 73 is mounted for pivoting upon support member 39 and is connected by means of spring 72 to one of the supports 21.

The wire 57 is payed off of reel 74 and passes through a straightener, indicated generally at 76. The straightener comprises a plurality of grooved wheels 7777 mounted rotatably upon shafts 7 87S, which are mounted rigidly upon support 79 secured to the support 21. A wire guide 81 is also provided and is integral with the support '79. The feed wheel 61 is aided in taking the wire 57 off of the reel '74 by the driving action of a belt 82, which passes around a pair of pulleys 83 and 84. The pulley -83 is mounted for rotation between a pair of 4. mounting members 86 and 87 which are held in fixed spaced relation by spacers 83-83 and a handle 89. The members 86 and 87 are mounted pivotally upon a shaft 91 upon which the pulley S4 is also mounted and is keyed thereto for rotation therewith. One end of the .shaft 91 is mounted rotatably in a suitable bearing provided in a support 92 rigidly secured to the table top 17. The other end of the shaft 91 extends through and is supported by a bearing 93 also secured to table top 17.

A spring mount member 94 is attached rigidly to the bearing 93 and has one end of a helical spring 96 attached thereto, the other end of which spring is attached to the member 87 so as to urge by a torsional action the members 86 and 87, pulley 83 and belt 82 upwardly toward the reel 74 positioned above the belt 82 to the position depicted in Fig. 2 so that the belt 82 can cause driving of the reel 74 by the force of the belt 82 against the wire on the reel 74. A latch device 97 is provided for maintaining the members 86 and 87 and the associated belt 82 down during loading and unloading of reels and the handle 89 may be used to force them downwardly to this position.

The reel 74 is mounted upon a cantilever shaft 98 and may be removed from the shaft 98 by removal of the lock nut 99. The shaft 98 is mounted rotatably within a support 101 secured to the table top 17. The reel 74 may be driven to pay off wire 57 by releasing the latch device 97 so as to allow the belt 82 to be forced against the wire 57 on the reel 74- by the action of helical spring 96. It should be noted that the belt 82 moving at constant speed will rotate the reel 74 at a rotational speed such as to pay off the wire 57 at a constant linear speed because during operation the belt 82 cont-acts the wound surface of the wire 57.

A cutter assembly, indicated generally at 102, is provided for cutting the span of wire extending between the wire guide 58 and the straightener 7-6. A knife 103 is mounted upon the shaft 23 and is actuated in much the same fashion as the fingers 2222 by a earn 105 mounted upon the cam shaft 19. The knife cooperates with the cutting block 59 attached to the support 39 to cut the wire as described.

A suitable drive means 104, such as a HP. Boston Ratiomotor, manufactured by Boston Gear Works, Quincy, Mass, is mounted upon a plate 106 which is secured to the supports 2121. The drive means 104 and associated transmission 107 drives a clutch shaft 108 through an output shaft 109 and a sprocket and chain transmission 111 operatively connecting the clutch shaft 108 and the output shaft 109. The clutch shaft 108 is mounted rotatably in a suitable bearing in the support 21. The clutch shaft 108 may be connected operatively through a suitable single revolution clutch 112, such as a Hilliard Type 6, Size 2, Single Revolution Clutch, manufactured by Hilliard Corporation, Elmira, N.Y., to a main drive shaft 113.

The main drive shaft 113 is mounted rotatably within a suitable bearing in the support 21, extends through the support 21 and has secured to its extending extremity a segmental gear 114 forming a part of a star-wheel mechanism 116 which is explained hereinafter in more detail. The star-wheel mechanism 116 functions to rotate a gear 117 and a gear 118 intermittently each through one revo- 'lution per one revolution of the main drive shaft 113. The gear 117 is keyed to a wire feed shaft 119 which is rotatably mounted through the supports 21-21 and extends rightwardly (as viewed in Fig. 1) from the right support 21 to a bench-mounted bearing 121 within which shaft 119 is mounted. The shaft 119 has a bevel gear 122 keyed thereto which meshes with a bevel gear .123 keyed to the shaft 91 so as to drive the shaft from the shaft 119. A bevel gear 124 is keyed to the shaft 119 in such a position as to mesh with and drive bevel gear 126 which is keyed to the shaft 67. Thus the rotation of shaft 119 willcause simultaneous rotation of the wheel 61 and the belt 82.

The gear 118 is mounted upon and keyed to the end of the cam shaft 19, the rotation of which, as previously described, pivots the fingers 22-22 "and actuates the cutter assembly 102 when the associated cams rotate to their actuating position. The rotation of the cam shaft 19 also rotates the cam 49 through the gears 127 and 128 which are mounted upon and keyed to the shafts 19 and 129, respectively. The shaft 129 is mounted rotatably within a suitable bearing in the support 21 and has the cam 49 keyed thereto for rotation therewith. The cam 49 makes one complete rotation for every complete rotation of the cam shaft 19.

A foot pedal 131 is provided for actuation of the single revolution clutch 112 through connecting rods 132-132 and the operator may connect the clutch shaft 108 to the main drive shaft 113 for a single revolution by a depression of the pedal 131. A push button electrical switch 133 is provided for starting and stopping the drive means 104. Rigidly secured to the end of the wire feed shaft 119 is a pair of cams 134-134 for actuating an electrical switch 136 which controls a valve (not shown) for .admitting air into one end or the other end of the pneumatic cylinder 54 for driving the tube 56 leftwardly or rightwardly, respectively, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to Fig. 11, the star-wheel mechanism 116 is depicted and comprises the segmental gear 114, which has 13 teeth arranged along a portion of a semicircle, the gear 117 having 17 teeth and the gear 118 having 17 teeth. The gear 114, which is the driving gear, has a locking drum 141 rigidly secured thereto by means of bolts 142-142. The bolts 142-142 also serve to hold in place a pair of arms 143 and 144 having rollers 146 and 147 mounted rotatably thereon. Star members 148 and 149 are mounted on the shafts 119 and 19, respectively, are keyed to the driven gears 117 and 118, respectively, and have arcuate surfaces 151 and 152, respectively, for engaging the locking drum 141 and for locking the shafts 119 and 19, respectively, in stationary positions When those shafts are not being rotated by the driving action of the gear 114. g

The star members 148 and 149 have slots 153-153 and 154-154, within which the rollers 146 and 147, respectively, may be engaged. The roller 147 and the slots 154-154 serve for accelerating the shafts 19 and 119, the roller146 and the slots 153-153 for retarding those shafts and the gear teeth of the gears 114, 117 and 118 for imparting uniform motion to the shafts 119 and 19 from the main drive shaft 113. The number of teeth upon gears 117 and 118 and the positions of rollers 146 and 147 cause the gear 117 and 118 to rotate intermittently, each through one revolution per revolution of the gear 114. n

For more information regarding the theory and operation of such a star-wheel mechanism, reference is made to the January 1952, issue of Machine Design, pages 127-141.

Operation Assuming it is desired to connect electrically a row ofterminals of the cast resin terminal block assembly 11 with a length 16 of tinned copper wire, as shown in Figs.

'9 and 10, the operator presses the on button of the switch 133 toactuate the drive means 104 and positions ginning to rotate of shaft 119, the switch 136 is actuated erator then depresses the foot pedal 131 to engage the single revolution clutch 112 which connects operatively the drive means 104 and the main drive shaft 113 for one complete revolution of the main drive shaft 113.

During the ,first half of the revolution of the main drive shaft 113, the wire feed shaft 119 is driven through the star-wheel mechanism 116. Immediately upon the beby one of the cams 134-134 to cause actuation of a valve to admit air to the air cylinder 54 which causes immediate rightward movement of the tube 56 until it abuts the wire guide 58. The continued rotation of the shaft 119 rotates the bevel gear 124 which causes the wire 57 to be fed leftwardly, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 by the grooved feed wheel 61, which is driven through bevel gear 126, shaft 67, gears 63, 64 and 66 and shaft 62.

The rotation of shaft 119 also rotates simultaneously the bevel gear 122 driving the belt 82 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, through the bevel gear 123, the shaft 91 and the pulley 84. The latch device 97 is released manually so that the spring 96 can pivot the working surface of the belt 82 against the wire 57 wound on the reel 74. The moving belt 82 cooperates with the feed wheel 61 to rotate the reel 74 and feed a predetermined length of tinned copper wire 57 through the guide 81, straightener 76 and guide 58. The'wire 57 will be fed leftwardly, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, into the tube 56, which is positioned below the series of notches 31-31 formed in the tip portions of the fingers 22-22 and positioned in the aligned notches 14-14 formed in the terminals 12-12 of the terminal block assembly 11. As the wire feed shaft 119 nears the end of the single revolution, one of the cams 134-134 trips the switch 136 which causes the pneumatic valve to be actuated so as to cause leftward retraction of the tube 56 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by the pneumatic cylinder 54. When the wire feed shaft 119 completes its revolution, a predetermined length of wire 57 will be positioned below the notches 31-31 and in the notches 14-14.

After the main drive shaft 113 completes one-half of a revolution, it will be disconnected operatively from the shaft 119 and connected operatively to the cam shaft 19 by means of the star-wheel mechanism 116 and will cause driving of the cam shaft 19 through one complete revolution. At the beginning of the revolution of cam shaft 19, the cam associated with the cutter assembly 162 will rotate to a position where it actuates the knife 103 to cut the wire 57. Continued rotation of the cam shaft 19 will cause the two most central cams of the cams 24-24 on the cam shaft 19 to actuate their respective fingers 22-22 to pivot, their bifurcated portions downwardly, as shown in Fig. 4 and all the fingers will appear as shown fragmentarily in Fig. 5. The wire 57 will be drawn from the left and right into the spaces 137-137 (Fig. 5) between the three most central terminals 12-12.

As the cam shaft 19 continues to rotate more of the wire 57 will be drawn from the left and right down into the spaces 138-138 between certain other of the terminals and loosely crimped there by the pivoting of the adjacent fingers 22-22, as shown in Fig. 6. The cam shaft 19 will pivot more and more of the fingers 22-22 into the down position until the apparatus will appear as shown fragmentarily in Fig. 7. It should be noted that the cams 24-24 will hold the fingers 22-22 in their down position after the pivoting thereof, as is shown in'Figs. 6 and 7.

As the cam shaft 19 nears the end of its revolution the cam 49 will rotate to a position Where the follower 47 will be reciprocated by the cam track 48 so as to reciprocate the bar 46, oscillate the spreader rods 38-38 and spread the bifurcated portions 37-37 of the fingers- 22-22 to a position, as shown in Fig. 8. The resilient bifurcated portions 37-37 of the fingers 22-22 will return to their usual positions as the bar 46 completes its reciprocation.

As the cam shaft 19 completes its revolution, all of the cams 24-24 allow the springs 34-34 to pivot the fingers 22-22 to the position shown in Fig. 3, The operator may now remove from the machine the terminal block assembly 11 with an aligned row of terminals V tinned copper wire, as shown in Fig. 9

1212 thereof connected together by a length 16 of It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for crimping a Wire about each prong in a row of aligned, parallel prongs, which comprises a frame having a support for the prongs, the prongs being mounted on said support so that a plurality of spaced, open-topped apertures are defined having the side edges of adjacent prongs as sides, a plurality of movable, spaced, parallel crimping fingers, each having bifurcations at one end thereof, means secured to the frame for mounting said crimping fingers so that the bifurcated ends thereof are in alignment with the open tops of the apertures and are normally spaced therefrom, means for positioning a wire across the row of prongs, means for moving said crimping fingers so that the bifurcated ends thereof move from their normal positions spaced from the apertures toward said support and into the apertures to press a loop of wire loosely into each aperture, means for spreading the furcations of said fingers to crimp the wire against the prongs, and means for moving the various activating means in proper timed relationship to one another.

2. Apparatus for crimping a wire about each prong in a row of aligned, parallel prongs, which comprises a frame having a support for the prongs, the prongs being mounted on said support so that a plurality of spaced, open-topped apertures are defined having said support as a bottom and the side edges of adjacent prongs as sides, a plurality of movable, spaced, parallel crimping fingers, each having bifurcations at one end thereof, means secured to the frame for mounting said crimping fingers so that the bifurcated ends thereof are in alignment with the open tops of the apertures and are normally spaced thereabove, means for positioning a wire across the row of prongs, means for operating said crimping fingers so that the bifurcated ends thereof move from their normal positions above the apertures down into the apertures and toward said support to press a loop of wire loosely into each aperture, means for controlling the downward movement of said fingers so that the most central of said fingers are moved first and then the remaining fingers are moved in sequence progressing outwardly from the center and so that each finger is maintained down until after all of said fingers have been so moved, means, operable after the downward movement of each finger and while all of said fingers are maintained down, for spreading the furcations of said fingers to crimp the wire against the prongs, and means for moving the various activating means in proper timed relationship to one another.

3. Apparatus for crimping a wire about each prong in a row of aligned, parallel prongs, which comprises a frame having a support for the prongs, the prongs being mounted on said support so that a plurality of spaced, open-topped apertures are defined having said support as a bottom and the side edges of adjacent prongs as sides, a plurality of pivotable, spaced, parallel crimping fingers, each having bifurcations at one end that the bifurcated ends thereof move from their normal positions above the apertures down into the apertures and toward said support to press a loop of wire loosely into each aperture, said first cam means being so constructed and arranged as to pivot said fingers in order beginning with the most central of said fingers and progressing outwardly and further to maintain each finger pivoted down until after all of said fingers have been so pivoted, second cam means, operable after the pivoting of every finger and while all of said fingers are maintained pivoted, for spreading the furcations of said fingers to crimp the wire against the prongs, and means for moving the various activating means in proper timed sequence to one another.

4. Apparatus for crimping a wire about each prong in a row of aligned, parallel prongs, which comprises a support for the prongs, the prongs being mounted on said support so that a plurality of spaced, open-topped apertures are defined having said support as a bottom and the side edges of adjacent prongs as sides, a supporting shaft, a plurality of crimping fingers mounted centrally for pivoting movement about said supporting shaft, each crimping finger having a bifurcated, wire-crimping portion at one end and a cam-following portion at the other end, said crimping fingers being positioned along said supporting shaft so that the bifurcated end portions thereof are normally positioned above and in alignment with the open tops of the apertures, the furcations of the bifurcated ends being normally parallel but resiliently spreadable and the overall width of the bifurcated ends, when parallel, being less than the widths of the apertures, a cam shaft, a plurality of cams mounted on said cam shaft in alignment with said fingers, means for urging the cam-following portions of said fingers into contact with said cams, means for positioning a wire across the row of prongs, means for rotating said cam shaft, said cams being designed, upon rotation of said cam shaft, for pivoting said fingers so that the bifurcated ends are moved from their normal positions above the apertures down into the apertures and toward said support to press a loop of wire loosely into each aperture, said cams being so constructed and arranged as to pivot said fingers down in sequence beginning with the most central of said fingers and progressing outwardly, and further to maintain each finger pivoted down for a predetermined time after all of said fingers have been pivoted down, and means, operable after the pivoting down of every finger and While all of said fingers are maintained pivoted down, for spreading the furcations of the bifurcated ends toward the side edges of adjacent prongs to crimp the wire about each prong in the row.

5. Crimping apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said spreading means comprises a plurality of spreader rods extending between the furcations of the bifurcated ends of said crimping fingers, said spreader rods having a cross section designed so that in a normal position thereof they are positioned loosely between the parallel furcations, but that upon rotation about their longitudinal axes they will spread the furcations toward the side edges of adjacent prongs, and means, operable after the pivoting down of every finger and while all of said fingers are maintained pivoted down, for rotating said spreader rods about their longitudinal axes through an angle designed to spread the furcations apart to crimp the wire about each prong in the row.

6. Crimping apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said spreader rods are generally L-shaped, one leg extending downwardly between the furcations and the other leg extending horizontally and having a-ball-shaped terminus, and said means for rotating said spreader rods comprises a horizontal, longitudinally-reciprocable mounting bar having a plurality of sockets formed at intervals along its length for receiving the ball-shaped termini of said spreader rods, a cam follower secured to said mounting bar, an additional cam secured to said cam shaft and engaging said last-mentioned cam follower, said additional cam being so shaped as to maintain the support bar normally in a position whereat the downwardly extending legs of said spreader rods are positioned loosely between the parallel furcations, but, after the pivoting 10 down of every finger and while all of said fingers are References Cited in the file of this patent maintained pivoted down, to reciprocate said support bar UNITED STATES PATENTS through a predetermined distance designed to rotate the downwardly extending legs of said spreader rods through j g g g the desired angle to spread the furcations and crimp the 5 wire. 

